The Uniform Resource Locator (URL), is one of the most common yet most frequently-misunderstood elements of a website. It’s also been an integral part of the Internet more or less since its earliest days, providing a human-readable means of connecting to unique pages on the web. Each URL consists of four primary components.

If there’s one constant in the world of search engine optimization (SEO), it’s that people love throwing out predictions that it’s dead (or at least dying).

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. When it comes to content marketing, we’d argue that it’s worth even more. A good header image is arguably imperative for the creation of compelling, engaging content, and high-quality photos are important for breaking up the monotony of large walls of text.

In an effort to compete with platforms like Amazon and eBay, crafting ecommerce site Etsy rolled out a new advertising policy. Known as Offsite Ads, it was billed as a risk-free way for merchants to gain more attention and traffic. There was just one caveat.

The right message delivered to the right person in the right place at the correct time can make all the difference in the world. That’s the idea behind proximity marketing, which is functionally the “next step” in location-based marketing. Also known as hyperlocal marketing, the tactic leverages a combination of mobile apps and Bluetooth to deliver contextual,  location-based messages to your brand’s most engaged customers.

Bluetooth beacons, the technology behind proximity marketing is not new. As noted by eCommerce retailer Shopify, beacons were first developed and released in 2013 by Apple.  They didn’t quite catch on.

Animated GIFS have been a part of Internet culture for years. They’re a quick, effective way to convey emotion on social media. They’re entertaining, they’re easy to digest, and they’re attention-grabbing.

Popup ads are awful.  They’re intrusive and frustrating, interrupting your browsing experience to shove spam in your face. They’re so reviled that their original creator, Ethan Zuckerman, posted a public apology in 2014. 

In January, Google announced that version 80 of Chrome, which launched in early February, would start blocking website push notifications. For users who consistently block these notifications, blocking will be enabled by default. Blocking will also be enabled on websites with low opt-in rates.

A lot of people look at search engine optimization as this arcane, unknowable craft. It really isn’t. It’s just in the best interests of some people to make you think it is. 

Hudson, FL, February 24, 2014 – ASEOHosting, a provider of premium multiple IP hosting, has commented on the confusion surrounding the optimal use of IP addresses for search engine ranking in specific geographic areas. Many business web masters and SEOs do not have a clear idea of the best strategy to ensure that market-specific sites have the greatest chance of ranking well in the regions they target.

Google employs over 200 signals to determine relevance, authority, and quality of content. Among the signals are country-code top-level domains and the location of the site’s server as determined by IP geolocation. Together these factors form a strong signal that a site is relevant to a region.